Christmas In A Cup
by Shadow Systems
Summary: Tony and Loki are the strangest roommates. Not technically AU as Loki's fate hasn't been revealed yet. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Memories

_/Edit: I've had to change the date at the end of the story. It is supposed to be the 21st of December, not the 13th. I wasn't paying attention and thought Yule ended Christmas day._

Loki was a strange, but thankfully quiet, house guest. The god of mischief had been under Tony's Stark's roof for the last six months and hadn't made a blip on the super-villain radar even once.

Rather than be executed, Frigga had pleaded (and demanded) on Loki's behalf that, in context, Loki's crimes were no worse than Thor's. The killing of humans did not phase her much; they could always make more.

After gaining Odin's consent, Frigga had gone to Earth to bargain with Anthony Stark, as she felt he was the only mortal to understand and appreciate what she had offer. Tony was also one of the only people who wouldn't throw Loki to SHIELD, given the chance.

At first, Tony had outright refused. Loki was a psychopath and a murderer. Reindeer Games and Ironman were not the fucking odd couple.

After several conversations about Loki's mental health (and how much it had improved by not wielding the Tesseract,) what Frigga was willing to offer in exchange for the housing (all of the knowledge of Asgard, save weapons, and a backing that even Thor couldn't match,) and what Loki's punishment would be for failure (detailed torture followed by a slow death,) Tony had hesitantly agreed.

If the Mother of the Gods was willing to chat up her son's death like she were merely discussing dinner, Tony felt pretty confident that she meant every word.

On a cold December morning, watching the god putter around the kitchen in his pjs while he made breakfast, Tony almost convinced himself the caution was unwarranted. Almost. Tony would always be waiting for the other shoe to drop, but as the days ebbed into months without incident, it seemed fated to be a short fall when it did.

Like a pair of newlyweds, most of their fights had happened in their first month anyway, and were mainly about Loki being bored.

Odin couldn't separate Loki entirely from his magic, as it was a key part of his being, but Mischief Incarnate was severely cut off. Unable to entertain himself in his traditional fashion, Loki had pleaded for access to a library. He was one of the more intelligent minds of the universe and needed something to stimulate his senses.

In likewise fashion, Tony had refused. Any knowledge could be considered dangerous in Loki's hands. The man who had tried to take over the planet wanted to learn more about Earth just for the sake of reading material? Yeah, no.

Strangely enough, Jarvis came to the poor god's assistance. Feeling that a bored god was the more dangerous of the two, Jarvis agreed to monitor everything Loki did and immediately report any suspicious activity.

Loki was to have no privacy. He couldn't eat, sleep, or use the little mischief's room without Jarvis' constant presence.

For the sake of books and entertainment, Loki agreed. The god tore through fantasy and old world lore like a drowning man to air. After a few boring weeks of watching Loki read, write essays debating various issues about what he had read, and dance while making notes on a holographic white board, Tony was content to let the god be.

Loki also communicated with his mother on a frequent basis, but Tony could not bring himself to watch over their conversations. There was something about the way Frigga spoke that left Tony longing for his own mother and made the rest of his day feel very lonely and bitter.

Having Loki around had both helped and hindered Tony's feelings of loneliness. On the one hand, it was nice to have someone around who wanted nothing from him other than his occasional presence. There was something about simply being around to remind one another that they were not alone.

On the other hand, it meant that Pepper had stopped coming around as much. When Pepper had learned of the arrangement, she had been furious. She had raged all of the worries Tony himself had expressed, but would not listen to any of his reasons. As the months passed, she constantly straddled the line between overbearing mother and obnoxious, possessive girlfriend. Given his previous employer relationship with Pepper, Tony hadn't realized it was possible to have so much headache over someone he _wasn't _sleeping with.

And watching Loki mumble over his breakfast, Tony realized that his lack was quite unfortunate indeed because the god had been blessed with a fantastic ass.

Tony stirred some sugar into his coffee and asked, "Whatca mumbling about?"

Loki jerked at the sudden noise and turned, "Oh! I had forgotten you were still here. I'm, er, trying to recall one of Shakespeare's sonnets. I've made a point to memorize them all, but I have one that simply won't stick with me. It's.. frustrating."

"Why don't you ask Jarvis to read it to you?" Tony inquired, walking to the cabinet to pull out a plate.

Loki rolled his eyes. "What," he teased, "is the point of learning a skill if you don't have to practice?"

The god halved his egg and hash-brown monster and slid the larger portion onto Tony's plate. When he passed Tony a fork, the latter mused, "I wouldn't know actually, I've just always had things come easily to me. Ain't that right Jarvis?"

"As always, sir," came a quick reply from the ceiling.

"This," Loki said, waving his spatula, "coming from the man who barely knows how to operate his refrigerator and refuses to learn the basics of cooking."

Gathering up his plate and coffee mug, Tony took a small bow and shot back, "True, but I know every good joint in L.A. that delivers in 30 minutes or less."

Loki rolled his eyes again and chuckled as he began putting things in the sink, "Ironman, the world's mightiest hero, bested by breakfast. Shocking!"

"Don't hurt yourself, princess," Tony grinned at the evil look, "I'll be in my lab. If Rhodes or Pepper show up, lock the doors and tell them I've been eaten by aliens or something."

Loki seemed to ponder the sink for moment and then flashed Tony a quick lewd look. Tony started to return it, stopped, and then quickly made strides to his lab. He grumbled at the muffled giggles that followed.

Tony sipped his coffee as he rode the elevator down to his lab and wanted to sigh. He couldn't handle it if Loki started making passes at him. With the slow destruction of his relationship with Pepper, his will power was all but ebbed away. He wanted to hold someone and be reassured that the monsters weren't real at night.

Throwing stray thoughts to the wind, Tony wolfed down his breakfast and started making a new missile system for War Machine. Machines didn't question him or make him have feelings. Working with his machines was as natural as breathing and with improvements, Rhodney would hopefully stop bitching for a while. It was unlikely, but damn it, Tony would try.

Tony's last nonworking thought was that he owed himself a vacation from bitchy, whiny, Tony-obsessed people. They could all go fuck Fury for all he cared.

–

Several hours and a sore back later, Tony sat back and grinned at his handiwork. He had configured the missile system and had worked out energy relay in his own suit. Rhodney would probably hurt himself in his excitement.

After washing the grease from his hands, Tony returned to his desk to find a plain white mug and a note. "For Mother's Day," was all it said.

Tony scratched his head and checked his watch. As it was only December 21st, he was confused by the Mother's Day, but took the cup anyway.

The handwriting was Loki's and it wasn't the first time Tony had received an edible gift. Loki was an amazing cook and Jarvis was constantly vigilant of poison or malicious intent. As no alarms were going off, Tony sat back and took a long sip.

He was suddenly seven years old again and curled in his mother's lap. Opened presents lay before them, the beautiful wrapping torn to pieces in a child's delight.

His mother fed him a mug of warm cider as they watched the snow fall. Howard had attempted to partake in the holiday, but too many hours of work not done ate away at him. Maria choose to let him go, lest he snap and ruin an otherwise happy day, like he had so many times before.

Maria was content to cuddle with her baby, help him play with his toys, and do what she could to make him feel like a normal child, even if was only for a day.

Tony fell asleep in her arms, the taste of cider on his tongue, and the fervent wish the Christmas day would never end. The feeling of his mother's simply love was something he could never replace, nor get back.

Her death from cancer when Tony was 12 had almost made him so embittered that he couldn't feel anything. He didn't want to process happy emotions because they represented a world without her.

Tony finished Loki's concoction, slowly set it on his desk, and cried. He cried for his mother, realizing that he had stopped celebrating holidays entirely with her passing, and terribly missing the way she loved him without expectations. She never judged him or him that he was a failure the way his father did, she just tried to steer him onto the right path and let him do the rest.

_Would you be proud of me now, mom? _

Wiping the tears from his cheeks, Tony washed out his cup and went to find Loki. Christmas was coming and hell or high water, he was going to celebrate it.


	2. Dinner

_Author's notes: I'm going to try to keep this updated on a frequent basis, but please be understanding with me. I work a very intense 40 hour week job and can only write in my spare time. Thank you so much for reading!_

"Jarvis, do we have any Christmas decorations?" Tony asked, heading to the kitchen in his quest for Loki. Loki would only be in one of two places: His quarters or the kitchen. Mischief Incarnate was a fabulous pseudo-wife.

A speaker overhead responded, "Negative, sir. All of the permanent Stark decorations were disposed of for laboratory expansion."

"Hrm. Well, order the largest tree that will comfortably sit in the main ballroom of the tower and then order complimentary red and gold decorations. Make it a rush job. I'd prefer it to come pre-dressed. Oh," Tony made a circle motion around his ear as he ticked off his mental checklist, "and deposit the usual amount into Pepper's account. The usual pretty, post haste."

"Done sir. Is there anything more you require?" the ceiling politely inquired.

Tony reached the kitchen and placed his cup in the sink. No sign of dancing banana pajamas. "Yeah, is Loki in his room?"

"Yes, sir. He appears to be having a late dinner with his mother."

"Mother?" Tony scratched his head in confusion, "When did Frigga get here?"

"Lady Frigga appeared on the premises at approximately 7:30pm, sir. She appeared directly to Mr. Odinson, and with the exception of Mr. Odinson acquiring food, they have been in his chambers since."

Tony threw his hands in light frustration, "Why didn't you tell me she was here?"

"I did, sir," came the quick, if not indignant, retort, "You promptly responded, 'Unless she asks for me or they blow something up, whatev,' and continued working. You were in the midst of soldering a shoulder piece together when you received the message."

"Ah," Tony mumbled, slightly embarrassed to be told off by his A.I., "Sorry about that."

"It is quite all right, sir. If you plan on speaking with Lady Frigga, I would suggest you do it soon. It appears that that dinner is drawing to a close."

"Pass the message that I would like to speak with her. I'm just going to jump in the shower real quick. Ya know, do what I can to be presentable."

There was a moment of silence as Tony made his way back to his rooms. A side panel near his door chimed, "Message received, sir. The Asgardians patiently await your presence."

Tony showered quickly, pausing just long enough to rinse the sweat from his body. He took care in choosing his clothes, doing his best to appear formally causal. He doubted Frigga would have cared if he had just shown up naked, but there was something about her that encouraged him to be at his best.

Tony made long strides to Loki's room, noting the small touches the god had included in his walkway. A curling vine design on the door frame, a vase of roses beneath the hall window. _Talk to Loki about architecture_, Tony added to his mental checklist.

He raised a hand to knock, but the door opened before he could touch it.

Frigga peered out and smiled. With her gold hair tousled in loose ringlets that blended in perfectly with a gorgeous, bejeweled gown, impeccable makeup, and the air of confidence and charisma that only Frigga could exude, Tony was momentarily taken back in awe. Odin's fair lady giggled and gently pressed against his chin to close his mouth. He had the grace to be embarrassed and gave her a wobbly smile in return.

If there was one thing to hate about Asgardians, it was the damn way they threw a person off balance.

Frigga opened the door wider with a flourish and gestured to a seat near Loki's bed.

Banana pajamas had also decided to dress for the occasion and had his traditional black and green in the form of a simple suit. He sat on his bed, pages of his essays spread around him. He was in the process of gathering them back into a large pile when he looked at Tony and smiled.

Tony took a quick glance around Loki's room and realized it was the first time he had ever entered the space (in person) since it had become the god's living quarters. One could almost mistake the room for a plant nursery for all the foliage it possessed. Tony started to question where Loki could have acquired all the materials for his little project when the answer hit him.

Jarvis.

Tony spared a quick glance to the ceiling. He and a certain A.I. were going to have an unpleasant little chat.

Loki cleared a stack of papers off the chair Frigga had gestured to and gestured Tony again to sit. Tony sat and wanted to squirm at the sudden attention. Loki may have not been Frigga's blood child, but seeing such an imposing stare of undivided attention in stereo was more than a little unsettling.

"So, Anthony," Frigga asked warmly, "What brings you too us?"

"Well, um," Tony swallowed, "I had apparently missed the memo the when you first arrived. I thought it would be rude to, uh, let you pass through and not say hello."

"Oh," Frigga giggled, "Well, hello. How have you been? Has my favorite son," she ruffled Loki's hair affectionately, "been staying out of trouble?"

"Oh yeah," Tony nodded, "He's a great roommate. Quiet. Makes sure I get fed on a regular basis. I actually have someone intelligent to talk to."

Loki chuckled, "I do what I can. You prove to be most difficult at times."

Tony gave him a devilish grin, "It wouldn't be fun if it were easy."

Loki snorted and rolled his eyes. Frigga giggled and lightly patted him on the knee, "Ah, just like old times with you and Thor." She smiled warmly at them both, "I'm so glad you get along. It warms my heart that your time on Earth would be filled with glad tidings. Hopefully it will make your return to Asgard all the faster."

Loki returned his mother's smile with sincerity and raised her hand to kiss her knuckles, "It is my fondest wish and I look forward too it."

Something in Tony's heart clenched in a bittersweet way and he tried to push it aside. Ironman couldn't cry twice in one day. Tony politely interjected, "Is that the reason for your visit? I mean, to check on him?"

Frigga smiled again and happily shook her head, "Oh no. This eve is Mother's Night and Loki asked me to celebrate it with him. Given our arrangement, I had hoped you wouldn't mind if I spent the time with him."

"Not at all!" Tony was quick to refute, "You're welcome here anytime you'd like. I'm just curious though, Mother's Night? Doesn't that happen in spring or something?"

Loki shook his head, "No, Mother's Night is the first night of the Yuletide. It is a time to give gifts and thanks to our mothers for all they do. It is a night above all else to show how much we honor and respect them."

Frigga giggled, "It's not only for mothers, but all the strong women in one's life." She pulled Loki into her embrace, "It is nice to be reminded how much our children care, though."

Loki returned her hug and Tony had to look away. Loneliness and bittersweet want roared at him. Damn it, he was Ironman and Ironman was NOT going to cry twice in one day.

"Ok," Tony said, trying to steer himself back onto steady ground, "That's what the cup was for. Thank you," he gestured to Loki, "it was very good." He pondered for a moment and then looked at Frigga, "Well, I guess I need to ask you for a favor."

"Oh?" she straightened and smoothed down her dress, assuming the pose of a business woman.

"I realized earlier that I haven't celebrated holidays since my mother's death and, well," Tony swallowed his embarrassment, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be terrible at it. Would you mind…would you mind helping me plan out a party? I mean," Tony gestured to Loki, "I know he's supposed to be being punished, but I'd really like to celebrate the holidays with him. It'd seem in a bad taste to throw an event and keep my living library locked up like a mistreated house elf."

Tony winked at the shocked expression on Loki's face, unsure if it was because he had almost admitted they were friends or because he'd pulled a literary reference out of his ass, and turned back to Frigga.

Frigga clapped her hands and almost squealed with glee, "Oh yes! Oh, this is going to be marvelous! Hrm, here ,darling, allow me to return to Asgard to make arrangements for my absence and then we can discuss this more."

She stood, spun in a tight circle, and soundly kissed Loki on both cheeks, "Oh, a wonderful holiday with my favorite boy. This is..oh, my!"

Frigga clapped and giggled again, too excited to speak. Once she could mostly compose herself, a flood of gold rushed Tony as she enveloped him into a hug.

She was warm and smelled like honey with a tiny dash of cinnamon. "Oh, thank you!" she whispered, "This is be an event for the ages!"

Tony suddenly found himself unblinkingly staring into deep amber eyes, "We will make your mother proud!" Lady Frigga promised before engulfing him for another hug.

Torn between ravenous joy, unbridled excitement, exhaustion from a long day, and the lingering taste of bittersweet sorrow, Tony let himself go in her hug and her warmth.

For the second time in a day, Ironman cried.


	3. Fights

/_So for everybody who's still sticking with me, I really appreciate it. I know this isn't the greatest thing you've ever read, but your feedback means a lot. Side note, if there's anyone jumping to beta this, send me a pm and let's see if we can work something out. I need it and I would greatly appreciate it. _

"But why not?!" Tony whined as he threw his clipboard across the room and glared at the ceiling.

As patient as a baby sitter not getting paid nearly enough, Jarvis calmly replied, "Sir, I can only repeat the message given to me by their director."

"I'm willing to pay double, hell triple their rates!" Tony cried. He was Tony-fucking-Stark. He always got his way.

"The Trans-Siberian Orchestra has made it very clear that they do not view your monetary offers sufficient enough to cancel their world tour."

Jarvis was glad he lacked a head with which to get a headache. A lesser A.I. would have gleefully set Tony on fire before then. (Not that he hadn't tried. There were a number of reasons his security protocols were so high.)

Tony crossed his arms, "You're just trying to ruin Christmas, Jarvis."

"But of course, sir. It is but the 38th step in the plan for World Domination," the A.I. smoothly replied.

Tony's eyebrow lifted, "What?"

Jarvis's voice grew to a whisper, "Oh my, I've said too much."

Tony pointed to the ceiling, threat on the tip of his tongue, when his lab door chimed and opened to reveal Pepper Potts.

From the top of her perfectly tumbled, burned gold ringlets, to the tips of her sensible, but ravishingly styled, pumps, Pepper looked beautiful. It was the cold, professional smile that made Tony slowly close his mouth and draw his guard up.

"Jarvis," he said, blinking as he tried to gather his thoughts, "What happened to telling me when I have people over?"

Pepper clicked her heels with purpose and confidently strode to the nearest unburdened chair to sit.

"Sir," Jarvis replied, apology in his voice, "Ms. Potts used her security clearance to override my protocols. She wished to arrive unannounced."

Tony rubbed the back of his neck, "And my protocols so people can't do that?"

"You designed her clearance specifically to avoid that, "Jarvis replied calmly, "Your exact reasoning was," and here Jarvis did his best to emulate his master, "'Ya know, in case she wants to surprise me with pizza or hot bitches.'"

Tony grimaced at the sight of Pepper's extreme distaste, "Did I really say it like that?"

Slightly amused, the A.I. replied, "Yes sir. In your defense, you were heavily intoxicated at the time."

"Thanks, Jarvis," Tony said, rubbing his neck, "Now butt out for a sec. Mommy and Daddy need to talk."

Tony leaned against his desk and started to rationalize his comments, but Pepper cut him off. "'Pizza and hot bitches," she repeated, deadpan.

"Er," Tony replied awkwardly, "Let a man have his pipe dreams, Pep."

A very pointed, "Ah." was her only response.

"So, uh," Tony made a large circle gesture to her, "Can I ask what's with the get up? I mean, you look fantastic, like, gawd UNF!, fantastic, but it does seem, um, a bit much for causal wear."

Pepper crossed her legs and straightened her spine. "I'm flying out to L.A. to finalize the quarter review and review the last preparations for the annual Christmas party. Given your status with the Avengers, and the fact that you've refused to answer my texts, emails, and phone calls, I assumed you weren't coming."

Tony scratched his head, "Uh, yeah. The party wasn't real high on my list. I just, uh, wanted to spend the holiday with you. Ya know, make up the last couple of months to you."

Pepper raised a calculating eyebrow, "Did it never occur to you that I might have plans?"

"Well," Tony said slowly, drawing out the word, "Forgive me if this seems self centered, but no. Normally you include me in everything."

"You were included," Pepper snapped, "It's the annual STARK party. Happens every year. Same time, same place."

"Well if it happens every year, can't it just run itself? Do you have to go?" Tony crossed his arms to mirror Pepper, face scrunched in honest confusion.

Pepper pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Tony, how do you think things work in the real world? No, it can't run itself! It requires a director and a staff to make sure the building is rented out, that it has proper catering, that it has the right press, that the wrong press doesn't catch wind of the drunken debauchery, most of which, I'd like to remind you, has come from your hands. That's ME, Tony. This is what I do. This is what I've done since you _hired _me."

Pepper stood and threw her hands up in frustration, "This party is for all the other people of Stark Enterprises that you so conveniently forget. "

Tony scowled, "Ya know, I thought being my _girlfriend_ would have taken precedence over all of that. I'm grateful for the people that work for me, but you're so much more than that. I want to spend my time with you! Hell, I'll double their Christmas bonus if that's what it takes."

She couldn't keep the bite from her words, "And I thought having you as a _boyfriend_ would have stopped you from being a self centered ass all of the time. You can't seem to take anyone's feelings into account except your pet god."

Tony held a hand up to stop her, "Hold on, what the hell does Loki have to do with any of this?"

"You know he bothers me!" she spat, "You have the man that destroyed most of New York and tried to take over the planet living under your roof like you're the best of buddies! He shouldn't be here! He should be locked away on whatever planet he's from going through the worst torture they can come up with!"

"He's…changed. He's different now, Pep." Tony awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. It felt odd to be defending Loki given everything that he had done, but it was true. The god had changed during his time on Earth because he wasn't constantly influenced by grief, rage, and the Tesseract.

"How can you say that, Tony? He destroyed New York! He hasn't paid for anything he's done! He took countless lives and got a slap on the wrist for it!" Pepper shouted, her face shaded scarlet to match her hair.

Tony's face darkened with rage, "Number one, he's paid to rebuild New York, and number two, I'm the last person you should talk to about taking lives."

"What?" Pepper stuttered, "the people of New York-"

Tony cut her off, "Haven't paid a dime for any of the reconstruction. Asgard, through me, have funded every last project in the last six months. How? As it turns out, Asgardian gold has the strangest conductive properties, which makes it fantastic for arc reactor technology."

"He's why the project has progressed so quickly?" Pepper's mouth dropped open.

"The 'monster upstairs' is about to be single handily responsible for clean energy for every person on Earth," Tony crossed his arms, "and he's also the reason I want to throw a fucking Christmas party in my own home."

Pepper's face scrunched in confusion and she rubbed at her temples, "That's great and all, but he still shouldn't be getting off for all those deaths, Tony. He needs to answer for that."

"Pepper," Tony clipped his words, "I am responsible for more deaths that Loki ever was. You didn't seem to have such moral reservations when you worked for a War Lord," he held up a hand to stop her next words, "Ya know, why you go ahead and get on your flight. Take your little vacation. When you get back, we can discuss if you still have a job or not."

"Tony, why…why are doing this? Why are you defending him so much?"

Tony looked away and thought for a moment, "Pepper, if you judge him so harshly for what he did out of manipulation from an artifact so powerful not even gods can comprehend it and honest rage from being lied to his entire life, what can you possibly think of me and all the lives I knowingly took for the sake of money," he gestured to the tower around him, "No matter where I go, no matter what I do, my life's work was built on taking life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from others. Everything I am attempting to do now is a form of atonement."

"But, you're different," Pepper tried to extend a hand.

Tony walked to the door of his lab and opened it, "No, I'm not."

–

Loki tried to stay out of Tony's space as much as possible. Tony drew his lines of personal space erratically. There were days that he would almost cuddle Loki as they made breakfast, and then there were days were being on the same floor proved to be too much.

Despite the spider webbed mess that was Tony Stark's personal life, Loki attempted to keep tabs on his, dare he say, roommate. There had been more than once that the man of Iron had fallen asleep at his work desk. Sleeping halfway on a computer chair and slowly falling to the floor couldn't be comfortable, nor practical.

When Tony didn't come up from his lab even several hours after Pepper's departure, Loki grew curious and worried. The god slowly and silently slithered his way down the stairs to Tony's lab. He didn't trust elevators (being clasped in a small metal box unnerved him,) and growing up with Thor had taught him to appreciate a light foot.

His quiet maneuvers proved to be too effective as Tony jerked, and subsequently punched, in surprise.

The uppercut struck the god in the face and he fell back with a pained gasp. His short trip to the floor knocked him unconscious.

Tony froze, stunned at what had just happened. How the hell did he knock a god out?

"Shit. Jarvis!"

–

_So, sorry about this being late in being updated. To be honest, I'm not sure where I want to go with this fic. The original idea was just meant to be a fluffy one shot. If you have a cool idea, or want to help me beta this fic, please send me a pm. _

_Thanks a bunch!_

_-Shadow_


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